Life as an HM Slave
by RevorTay
Summary: Being the personal account of a Bibarel who greatly resents her trainer.


When I was younger, I was once told that Pokémon raised by trainers are very lucky. This is because trainers treat their Pokémon with respect and love. Pokémon that have trainers never have to worry about foraging for food or finding a good place to sleep, since their trainers take care of them. They become stronger under the care of trainers, and though the fighting can be rough at times, it is entirely rewarding just to see the look on their trainer's face when they win a tough battle. Trainers and their Pokémon become lifelong partners, forging powerful bonds of friendship that can never be broken. This is what I was told, and this is what I believed for the longest time.

What a load of lies that turned out to be.

I used to have a carefree life. I lived near a little pond just outside a human town with other Bibarels and Bidoofs, and for the longest time the only thing I had to worry about was making sure I didn't miss out on berry harvesting day. Then one day, _he_ showed up. Pokémon trainers weren't an uncommon sight, seeing as we were just outside a town, but this one was different. There was something about him that drew me to him, and eventually I worked up the drive to actually approach him. I'm sure that I did this because I wanted to become a trainer's Pokémon. After all, they were supposed to be benevolent and nurturing to my kind, and I was starting to grow tired of life by the pond. Sure, it eventually turned out to be the worst mistake of my life, but then again we all make mistakes at some point.

At first he didn't even realize I was there, so to get his attention I growled a little. Instantly he whirled around, Poké Ball in hand, his eyes flashing with a desire for battle. It wasn't long before I found myself face-to-face with a rather bored-looking Roselia, which was about the point where I started to wonder if I was making a mistake. I squeaked out a meager "hello" to the Roselia regardless, but she ignored my greeting. Instead, her trainer commanded her to shower me with some sort of powder from one of her roses. I suppose I had an allergic reaction to this powder or something, since I suddenly was unable to move. This seemed to satisfy her trainer, who then produced a greenish Poké Ball from behind his back and chucked it at me. Instantly I found myself sucked inside of the ball, and due to my sudden paralysis I wasn't able to fight back. And so, I was captured.

After some time the paralysis wore off, but that didn't change anything when I was still stuck in a Poké Ball. It wasn't so bad to begin with, since I figured that pretty soon my new trainer would let me out of the ball. After a small bit of waiting, this turned out to be true, but not all in a way that I expected. Once I was released from my tiny prison I turned to my trainer, expecting to receive a friendly pat on the head or something. Instead he shoved some kind of disc onto my forehead. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but suddenly I realized I could now smash large rocks with my tail. As soon as I gained this new knowledge, another disc was attached to my skull, followed by two more. By the time the ordeal was through, I was no longer a normal Bibarel. I could smash rocks, push boulders, scale cliffs, and swim up waterfalls. I figured this meant that my trainer wanted me to become as strong as the rest of his team as soon as possible. Surely I meant something to him with these new abilities! But before I could gauge his expression, I was returned to my ball.

And so I wound up waiting again. I wasn't entirely aware of what was going on outside the ball- sometimes I thought I could hear my trainer talking, but I couldn't make out what he was saying. A few times I felt my ball move from the outside, but this was just because my trainer was reaching for another one of his Pokémon. Never me, of course. I didn't understand why. After all, he had given me four amazing new abilities that would definitely be useful in a battle. So why was he just ignoring me? I pondered this for a while, still waiting for the moment when I'd be able to demonstrate what I could do to my trainer.

Eventually, my time to shine did come when my trainer was exploring a large cave. I was half-asleep when my trainer released me from my ball, but I snapped to attention shortly in case it actually was time to fight. Instead of a rival trainer's Pokémon, however, the only thing in front of me was a boulder. A boulder, I realized, that I was now capable of shoving around without much difficulty. I turned to look at my trainer, wondering what he had in store for me. He grinned and, with an overly dramatic point of his finger, said three words that have become etched into my mind:

"Bibaslave, use Strength!"

_B- Bibaslave?! _Is that what he was going to call me from now on? I'd rather just be left a nameless Bibarel than be saddled with a name as degrading as "Bibaslave!" If any of the others back at the pond found out about this, I'd never be able to live it down. I later realized it could be much worse, but at the time I was in utter shock to be called such a thing. So shocked, in fact, that I didn't even register the command I had been given until my trainer nudged me closer to the boulder and repeated it. I realized what he wanted of me at this point and begrudgingly complied by shoving the boulder out of his way. Instead of returning me to the ball, however, he let me stay out. Though I had just learned of the terrible name I had been given, I was still grateful to spend some time out of the ball.

Ten minutes later, I realized that the only reason he let me out of the ball was so that I could push more boulders and smash some rocks. Whenever he met up with another trainer, I was left unused during battle. I sat on the sidelines, watching my more competent teammates fight. It was clear that my trainer treated his battling team with much more respect: none of them had humiliating names, for one, and he seemed honestly concerned when one of them was badly injured. At the end of one tough battle, he even gave his Floatzel a hug! I didn't understand this at all. Floatzel beats up some other trainer's Pokémon and gets a hug, while I perform menial labor and receive nothing.

Eventually, we reached the end of the cave. While I hadn't taken part in any battles, I was absolutely exhausted from all the pushing and smashing I had to do. As we stepped out of the dark and into the sunlight again, I simply collapsed, hoping this would be enough incentive for my trainer to return me to the ball so I could get a little rest. Instead, my trainer simply prodded me with a foot. "Just one more," he said. Sighing, I managed to pick myself up and looked around for the final rock I had to remove from his way.

Then I saw the waterfall.

My trainer didn't expect me to swim out to the waterfall, which I suppose was nice enough. He had his Mantine ferry us over to it, and while it was carrying us I managed to get a small drink of water. It tasted different from the water of my home pond, but I was so thirsty that for all I cared it could've been filled with Grimer sludge. Upon reaching the waterfall, my trainer did several things in rapid succession. First, he grabbed a hold of my back. Next, he pulled out his Mantine's ball. My eyes widened in horror as I realized just what he was planning. Then, as he recalled his Mantine, he called out another order:

"Bibaslave, Waterfall! Now!"

With very little time to react, I found myself in the water with my adolescent trainer clinging to me. At this point I had no idea what he would do to me if I couldn't carry him up this waterfall. Various punishments started to flash through my mind, and the fear of being abandoned in my ball or being beaten by his stronger Pokémon became overwhelming. Despite my exhaustion, I couldn't fail him. Mustering up the remaining bits of my strength, I began to paddle with my tail in the direction of the waterfall, reminding myself that this was the last thing I would have to do before I could finally rest.

To my surprise, the vertical climb up the waterfall wasn't as difficult as I expected it to be. Or at least, it would have been less difficult had my trainer not been clinging to my back. I just about lost my balance several times because of the flow of the water, and my trainer nearly fell off at one point, but I perservered. Then, finally, we reached the top. My trainer released his Mantine once we were at the top to carry us the last bit of the way. I lied on my back on his Mantine, panting for breath. Somehow, I had managed to swim all the way up a waterfall while carrying a human. I turned my head to look at my trainer, hoping to finally receive some sort of appreciation for my services. He looked back at me and, with a smile on his face, produced my Pokéball. As I was returned to the ball, he said one last thing:

"You're a pretty good HM slave."

...

It's been a few weeks since I was first captured. When I'm not smashing rocks, pushing boulders, scaling cliffs, and swimming up waterfalls, I'm in my ball, though on rare occasions he does allow me to spend some time at a Pokémon daycare center. Each day of my life is another struggle to please him, and each day the most recognition I ever get is a few berries so that I don't starve. Compared to his other Pokémon, I'm treated less like a partner and more like a tool. There isn't a day that goes by where I regret approaching him in the first place. If I had just stayed away, I probably would still have a peaceful life by the pond.

One day, after "helping" my trainer climb a mountain, I managed to snatch a piece of paper out from his backpack. I don't think he noticed, but if he did I doubt he'd mind. I decided that I could use it to let others know just how much of a lie it is to believe Pokémon trainers are kind to Bibarels like me. Trainers are cruel slavedrivers that treat us like machines, and had I known this before the tragedy of my capture could've been avoided. As such, next time I'm out of my ball I'm going to pass this letter to the first Pokémon I see. I hope that this message can reach others of my kind. Even if I never get out of this situation, I can at least save others from my fate.

Just avoid Pokémon trainers at all costs!


End file.
